VELLORE: The chairman of the GGR College of Engineering in Vellore, GG Ravi, was hacked to death here on Sunday evening as he was returning from a meeting at the Rangalaya Kalyana Mandapam in Gandhi Nagar, Katpadi. According to sources, the murder took place around 8.45 pm, when Ravi, also a former councillor of Vellore Corporation attached to the AIADMK, was attacked by a gang armed with sickles.
Police officials suspect that the murder is a fallout of years of rivalry between Ravi’s family and the gang of notorious rowdy Maha alias Mahalingam, who was killed in full public view by Ravi’s sons R Gokul and R Tamil Mani, among others, near Thottapalayam in September 2015.
On that day, Mahalingam had attempted to murder Ravi near Dharmaraja temple on Arcot road. However, Ravi managed to escape and his sons, along with other relatives and associates, chased Mahalingam down, cornered him and stoned him to death. Pictures of Gokul and Tamil Mani menacingly holding stones while Mahalingam lay motionless with a bloodied face on the road went viral on social media.
The enmity between the two groups is said to have started when GG Ramesh, the younger brother of GG Ravi, was allegedly murdered by Mahalingam’s gang in 2013. Several cases, including an attempt to murder cases, were pending against Ravi, his brother Ramesh and his sons.
Speaking to Express, Superintendent of Police P Pakalavan said that special teams have been formed to nab the accused. “As of now, the murder seems to be a result of the previous enmity. However, we are yet to identify the accused,” he added.
Pakalavan visited the murder spot on Sunday and launched an inquiry. The Viruthampattu police have registered a case and are investigating the incident.